The 350 did have a suedo closed port 45mm cylinder and was 52cc. I also believe the 340 could use the bearing block of the 350's. There are quite a few 340's and 35's that are converted to 346's. The 351, 353, and 346's are all the same magnesium chassis. 350 45mm and 353 45mm are the same cylinders and just use a different piston. Dished vs flat top. You are exacly right on the Jonsered to Husqvarna versions. Great video! I get asked about these saws all the time.
The 350 also used a 44mm open port cylinder in early models(no purge bulb) @ 2000 they switched to the 353 cylinder w/ a dish piston. I think they used a 45mm open port cylinder as well but not confirmed
Thank you for the info. I've had a 345 that I picked up for $50 years ago. I got it from a Xmas tree sales man. It's the only clam shell that I own. And after I got all the sap off of it, it's an awesome little saw. Again good info. Appreciated.
My 350 does have the 45mm piston with a cylinder that looks like the one you showed for the 353. Mine has a dished piston, a primer and a green fuel cap
Ya know, I did read that some of them had the better cylinder, I just flat forgot to even mention it. I also completely forgot that some of the clam shell saws had full clamshell cylinders without the separate base to make the better cylinders work. Lots of variations.
the green cap is due to the fact that in Europe, gasoline is called green gasoline because it does not contain lead and is colored green, petrol with lead was red in the 90s, diesel has yellow caps
Somebody gave me a 340 in pieces in a box I said what happened they said catastrophic failure he used it heavily as a main homeowner firewood saw, and my conclusion was the plastic crankcase. I was going to rebuild it with a 346 XP top end then thought to myself if the plastic crankcase is slightly out of whack it could blow up again and waste my investment money. Husqvarna's plastic saws are the worst at least other brands use a metal crankcase bottom end cap then it screws into the plastic housing, I noticed stihl does this and even Poulan does this including the Wild Thing. I don't favor any brand I love jonsered, Husqvarna,stihl, old Poulan, McCulloch, Homelite , especially Echo old and new , and Makita. And even holzforma clone saws. I wish they made a carbon fiber 200 t. I prefer magnesium case, but I still love looking at my jonsered 2050 Turbo , considering its plastic it revs so good , it sounds like a high performance sewing machine , it's the Glock of chainsaws . It's 50cc but I don't know if it compares to a 346 XP? Oh and how about a Stihl o25 where does that fall compared to the 346 XP or even the 2050 Turbo? I love the input and opinions thank you all! I believe in chainsaw equality lol
The plastic case is actually extremely tough and you are installing the bearing cap which is an aluminum block and it’s bolted down through your case and locks the crank… I prefer the 45mm version or the 353 version for the maximum amount of torque load capability…
I would have to pick 346 XP I have a 105 chainsaws from 60s to current. I don't have a 346 XP but I have a 357 XP and was completely blown away good quality and revs to the Moon. Is it really worth trying to hunt down a 346 XP considering I have the bigger brother?
No. At least... not to me. Now if something comes your way naturally, then sure. But even though I would consider it to be among the very best 50cc saws ever made... it's still just a chainsaw. Not like it's gonna make you change your standards of life. People hype shit too much.
@@novicelumberjack thank you for the input, like you said naturally, funny story I repair chainsaws and sell them, some guy bought a 36 cc crappy little Poulan for 60? And gave me non-running Husqvarna 357 XP and a metal gas tank old version stihl 028wb . I said I'll pay you for them he said I can care less I just want something that runs. The Husky was up and running in less than 2 hours fully cleaned end serviced. It definitely felt like a pro saw in my hands. Mine runs like a top ,I hope you get yours situated
You would be going backwards significantly! The 357xp is a 46bore and it’s actually the very best factory designed topend ever built! Smaller volume combustion chamber volume for the increased compression psi… raised lower port feeding designed in factory… the 357xp is a much stronger saw then any of these smaller models…
I was tired of cheap, junk saws my dad had for firewood so I bought my own when I was in 11th grade. I searched on forums for the best chainsaw you could buy... a lot of answers for the 346XP and 2153. Decided on the Jonsered because it seemed cooler, and less common. I drove to the Jonsered dealer, a hardware store outa town. The guy working there said..."That's a TURBO! You sure you need this, it's expensive?! I'll have to order it in." This was 2005. Here I am today with my mint 2153, still looks bada** and runs fantastic. You get what you pay for.
This is a distinction without a difference. I might be wrong, but I believe the pro Jonsereds had a different cylinder plating and they had better compression by 2-8psi. The 346xp may violate that rule also. I’m a proud owner of a oe 346. It’s a ripper.
I just find it refreshing to know that I have been using the best 50 cc chainsaw these past 19 years. 🙂 If I needed a new chainsaw, I wouldn't rule out a good CS-2152 clone (provided it's red)! Especially since Redmax/Jonsered & Makita/Dolmar have sort of dropped out of sight recently. Priced with an 18" bars - the Echo CS-501P is about $550 & the Stihl CS-261 / Husqvarna 550XP Mark II are about $690 each. I think the Echo CS-4920 @ $380 & the Echo CS-590 Timber Wolf @ $440 (including bar/chain) both undercut the CS-501P sales.
All the clam shell saw's in both orange and red variations have the screw top covers, all the magnesium crankcase saw's have the snap top cover's. Crank's are not the same between the clam shell and mag case saw's but they are the same in all the clam shell model's yes, as is all the crank's are the same in the mag case saw's; with all saw's regardless using the same stroke like you said. Many shared top end's between both clam shell and semi pro mag case saw's, early models used 44mm open finger port; later models 45mm semi open internal window port. Full on pro saw's used closed external quad port in both 42mm and 44.3mm like you said. Clam shell saw's use different bearing's of course along with those cup seals, with mag case saw's using those stupid expensive proprietary bearing on the pto/clutch side ughhh... If only they had used the same bearing's on both side's like the 357XP 359/2156 2159's why WHY! lol.
Run saws for 40 something years both cutting logs and pulp for a living and now just personal firewood. My opinion is that the Jonsered 2152 chassis is the best power to weight and comfort chassis ever built.
Don't let the angry trolls get to you. Everyone wants to fight and argue these days. Opinions are just that.....an opinion based on personal experience. Appreciate you're honesty and sharing your knowledge.
Now I own a few of those 340 , 350 and the jonsered saws that use those cylinders with the removable transfer caps , and they used them on a lot of the 300 series saws
The 346 351 353 might be the best, but the 340 345 350 the worst chainsaws I have opened.. How were they able to put the bearings directly in the plastic housing?!? I opened a stock 340 which had the clutch side bearing lowered into the plastic, crankshaft had an angle, everything had worked crooked and then broken... a massacre... on the smallest, stock... I have seen this sabotage on several little Husqvarnas, also able for the best, but... The 135/140 and 435/440 also have bearings direct in the plastic, I would never recommend these saws. On the other hand, the 346/351/353 are wonderful saws.
I'm converting a 2140 , it has the one piece cylinder, using the block from a 2150, and the cylinder from a Husqvarna 353 and the carb and intake from a 359
I always upgrade mine to the 357xp carburetor and on the OEM epa cylinder with the caps I actually remove all the aluminum material between those transfers and create one big feed tube per side… makes them insane..,
This chassis has been my passion for a few years now. There is just something very satisfying about taking a 40cc saw and making it a 50cc saw with zero weight gain. I especially lean toward the 45mm semiclosed port simply because I can finally shape the uppers with the simple grinder setup I'm using. I've not been able to do that before and these cheap Chinese cylinders are practically free. I was able to get a new rim drive clutch with both a 7 and an 8-tooth 325 rims, a new oil pump assembly and bar mount plate that extends back and around the clutch, and new bearings and seals I haven't yet tried my luck with since so far the OEM bearings haven't needed replacing, new intake boot, air filter, carburetor, fuel filter and vent, spark plug and the semiclosed port 45mm assembly for less than $40. I grew up burning wood on this farm and have been an airplane mechanic (A&P) since 1990 and I'll be damned if I can find anything to complain about with the quality of these cylinder/piston assemblies including the chrome plating. I personally think these 3 series were the perfection of the chainsaw form with the 4 series looking like they went one step too far. Also, these are the last gen before going stratified. Just the perfect 50cc platform in both form and function. Couldn't be happier with the direction of this channel. Outstanding work up to this point as well. Oh, the 55 Rancher is still at the top of my favorite of all-time list, however.
My honest opinion is this... The best chassis out there is hands down the 346/xxx chassis. The main reason is because they are affordable, powerful for their size, lightweight, and parts are readily available pretty much anywhere! Plus having the jonsered side they are literally everywhere. I agree with you on this one. Do I feel it's the best chassis now available "currently", no I don't. I think the best 50cc saw now is for sure the redmax/husky 550xp. Those are damn animals out of the box. Buuuut they aren't cheap/affordable. Best performance yes, but damn they are expensive. I hate that echo eliminated the 4910. They should have upgraded the antivibe to spring mounts, put a metal handle on it and the rest of the options from the 501sx, and turned it into an autotune. Then they would compete with the pro class saws. And Japanese for sure have the technology to make one hell of an electronics system. They could have called it the echo 4910sxt or something like that. Anywho I sure hope you can get that old 346xp xp chassis cloned! That would be freaking awesome! Good video and awesome content.
Can't really give you an opinion on the Husky saw never had a husky never ran one but looking into buying one. I say it's all in what you used to using and for me it's been a still 290 that's 24 years old . Midlothian real hard at the Husky 460 I think that'll be my new upgrade are the 562 XP.
My 345 has more plastic than metal, by that I mean no metal block. Cylinder is one piece with top half of bearing pockets. Still love that saw, runs great, decent power and light. I think the 350 is the only one with the block. Lots of 350/346xp builds out there.
stihl did the same thing with the 260 I have a 260 , non adjustable oiler and non adjustable carb its 46cc and I have a 260 pro that has adjustable oiler and carb and its 50.2 cc I also have a 346 oe and a 350 all of them are great little saws
But they didn't. There were only a handful of changes to the 260 model. The 346xp chassis came in 4 pro variations, 4 semi-pro variations, and 6 homeowner versions. That's 14 different variations of the same saw.
@hillcresthayfarms9664 Gotcha! Yeah, weird isn't it? And ya know, they must have had racing in mind too, and talked to somebody who said it can't be over 50.5 or it will be ineligible for racing. I mean, how else can it be explained? Else, why not just go for 45mm?
Sorry but by the time Stihl upgraded to the MS260's they were 44.7mm top end's and yes 50.2cc both pro and non pro model's I have both variations, the first year MS260's had a few left over top end's from the 026 44mm; the 026 non pro had the straight 44mm 46cc and the 026 pro had the 44.7mm 50.2cc top end. My MS260's non pro doesn't have the adjustable oiler like you said but mine do have the fully adjustable two jet Walbro carb's some had only one jet carb's some like yours had non adjustable, in all the MS260's had five different carb option's in their production run it can be found in the IPL's. The 026's had Walbro 194 carb's for a good number of year's but not all, just wanted to share that bit of info with you no offence meant to your comment.
thanks, that gentlemen was me, about the dealer who said it wouldnt fit as he opened the saw. my only thought now would be; was it an old or new edition cylinder and piston from the 346 he tried to fit in. it was an unoriginal part, but
Only 50cc saw I’ve ever owned an ran is the Makita. Liked it fine but after all this, I just had to know what the best 50cc saw actually was so I googled it. It said that it’s the Tanaka! So now that that’s cleared up I think we can all sleep better tonight! 😏
Haha! I wonder, was it the newer one they have, or the older? The newer one I believe has a strato engine and is called spitfire or something like that. The older Tanaka 50cc saws were Zenoahs. Same as the Redmax G5000. The OG to all the clone saws.
Had to be the new one. Be hard for them to convince you to purchase the old one. Never even heard of them myself. I thought they made toy trucks for boys! Oops, I mean kids. Forgot my exclusitivity training 😁
I think it has emissions regulated vent system, I have the 353 e built in 2012. Has 45mm cylinder, tank vent and a few other hoses, that I’d like to remove, not sure it’s doable? Green fuel cap. FYI
Muffler and if later model would have purge bulb, change muffler or mod it to a non cat open can muffler ie no internal baffle's to get rid of excess heat; great saw otherwise.
350 has a riser w/ removable cylinder, 340,345 clamshell bearing pocket. 350 along with the open port cylinder also had a closed port 353 cylinder w/ dish piston in later production
